Fire-curtain.



` E. B. SMITH. y

i FIRE CURTAIN. -APPL`ICATION FILED DEC. 1 |91' .1326.75806; I Y! Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Patented Dee. l12, '1916.

4 SHEIETS-SHEET 2.

L1B. SMITH. FIRE CURTAIN.l

APPLICATION FILED DEC.1, 1911.

DLI

.5. B. SMHH.i

'FIRE CURTAIN.

APPLlCATION FILED DEC. 1| 191|. y Y. l 152072806. VPatented Dee. 12, 19.16.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ina sa..

EZBA B. SMI'II-I, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 THE KINNEAR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF COLUMBUS, OI-IIO, A CORPORATION OFWEST VIRGINIA.

FIRIS- CURTAIN.

agenten-e.

specification of Leners raamt. Patented Dec, 12, 1916,'

i Application iled December 1, 1911. Serial No. ff33,190.

To nl?, 'whom t .may concern lle it known that I, Ecm. B. SANTI-I., a citizen ot' the United States,'resit ling at Chicago. county of Cook, State of Illinois, have .invented a certain new and useful Improvement in litre-Curtains, and declare the following to be a linll,V clear. and exact description of the same.- such as' will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being;l had tothe Iaccompanying drawings. which form a part of this specification.

My invention has tor its object to produce a novel and simple mechanism 'for control.- lng alre curtain in such a manner Vthatit may be raisedand lowered at will, be dropped instantly in case of lire and be capable of being raised easily after an emergency release.

A further object ot my invention is to provide a tire curtain or the like with a service spring which normally holds it raised and a device for checking the drop of the jurtain in an emergency, together with means for rendering the service sprinr inoperative in an. emergency without releasing the tension of the spring` and at the same time throwing' into` action the device for checking the falling curtain.

' A furtherobject of my invention is to provide means whereby a. tire curtain or the like maybe fully raised .by means of its counterbalaneing device, even after an emergency release olf-the curtain.

i-'t further objectol my invention is to provide means whereby the tension of the serrice spring; niayi'be increased' at will by inanipulating the curtain.

A. further object ot my inventionl is to provide means whereby a [ire curtain may be giyen an emergency `operation for testing purposes.' without interfering with the fusiblc connections whicli ,normally control the emergency operations.

A further object ot my invention is to provide a tire curtain or the like with .a

service spring` which is rendered inoperative as a counter-balance at the beginning of an emergency operation of the. curtain Without haring its tension released and which is again operatively connectedto the curtain after the latter has dropped so as to exert its tension in the direction to litt the curtain.

A further object of my invention is to p'roduce a simple, novel and effective baille plate for preventing a lire from passing around over .the curtain from one sideto the. other. i A further-object of my invention is to pro# vide a simple and `n ov'el means Ator-attaching- `the guides for the edges of'arc curtain so that the guides are permitted to expand nnder intense heat and therefore be protected againstwarpingor buckling.

The va'rious features. ot novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims: but. :tor a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may he had to the following detailed description taken in connection with th e accompanyingl drawings. wherein:

Figure l isa front view ot a-wall having` an opening;` therein vlosed'by a curtain ar ranged in accordance with a preferred forni of my invention: Fin'. l is a section. on line 2 2 of Fig; 1. the scale being somewhat larger than in Fic'. l: Figs. 3 and -l are de 4tails or the tastening y means 'for the channels or guides for the edges of the curtain; Fig. is a longitudinal section on an enlarged sca-leltlnfongh the curtain roller and its-housingglrig. (3 is a section on an enlarged scale ot the left hand end ot the curtain roller as 'riewed in Fig. 5; Fig. T is a section on line T T of Fig. looking;` the direction ot the arrows: Fig'. 8 is a section on line Sm-S ot' Fig. Fig. 9 is a section on line 9-9 ot Fig. 3: Fig'. .l0 is a transverse section through the housing t'or the curtain; Fig. l1 is an end view loi)lii11gti)\\'ziid the lett in Fig. Fig. 12- is a detail ofthe. barrel shaft with its automatic locking nut; Figs. '13 and I4 are details showing the construction of the cii1tain;-a11d Fig. l'is a detail ot a second form ot' checking; device for the cur' tain.

In Figs. l to 1t I hare illustrated anarrangement in which all .of the various features which can be combined in one torni of my invention have been so con'ibined and I shall explain, as the description develops, how certain ot' the features may be omitted or used in other combinations with each other.- Referring to the. drawings, 1 representsa curtain roller or barrel upon which may be wound. a. curtain of any usual or suitable construction. The barrel .is surrounded by a housing` 2 which also torins the support forthe barrel and lor the various controlling devices. ln one end of the barrel 1 have arranged a shaft 3 which is revolubly supported by the barrel. One end of the shaft projects beyond the barrel and passes through the end wall' 4 of the housing, as indicated at 5. The barrel contains within its end a. block (i within which the shaft bears. The block G in turn has a bearing upon a member 7 carried by a transverse partition 'wall 8 in the housing. Consequently one end of the barrel is revolubly supported upon a bearing carried by the housing and also upon the shaft. Surroundl ing the shaft within the barrel is a spring 9 which has its inner end fixed to the shaft as indicated at l0 and has its outer end fixed to the block 6. is held stationary and the barrel rotated, the spring is wound or unwouud depending upon the direction of rotation of the barrel. vlf the shaft be left free to rotate`r then when the barrel turns', the shaft turns with it and the spring does not come into play except as it 'serves mechanically to connect the barrel and the shaft. On the extreme outer end of the shaftv 3 is a pinion 11 which cooperates with a mutilated gear 12 revolubly mounted adjacent thereto and servingas a locking or holding member. The mutilated gear 12 has a few teeth 13 which are adapted to mesh' with the lteeth of the pinion l1 in one position of the mutilated gear, this being the locking position. The mutilated gear is held in the locking position by means of a device which will release the gear under an abnormal rise in temperature and thus permit the shaft to rotate its pinion out of en gageinent with the teeth on the gear. In the arrangement shown, a link 1st is connected at one end to the mutilated gear and at its other end to an arm 15 on a-rocker shaft which passes through the housing from one end to the. other. The rocker shaft is provided with a comparatively long arm 1T to the free end of which is connected a chain or cable 1S having thereiii a fusible link 19. The chain or cable passes over suitable 4pulleys down the wall beside the door opening 2O (see Fig. l) which the curtain is adapted to cover and is there connected to a suitable controlling lever 21. rlhe member 21 serves to hold the mutilated gear in its loc-king position, and when it is desired to test the apparatus, the member 21 may be operated 'to release' the mutilated gea-r wit-hout interfering with the fusible link.

It will be seen that when the mutilated gear is releasetLjthe barrel shaft. is left free so that it can turn with the curtain; therefore in case of lire which causes the fusible link Vto melt, the curtain is freed from the tension of the servicespring and can drop under its own weight. lzlowever, as soon as 'the end of the barrel shaft is released the spring tends to unwind until it is no Consequently when the shaftl longer under tension. It is; one of the purposes of my invention toi-prevent this univinding of the service spring because I desire to utilize its initial tension. for the purpose of raising or assisting to raise the curtain after lan emergency drop has been made; this being either for the purpose of permitting the curtain to be lift- .ed partiallil to enable a person who has been trapped by the curtain to escape, or for the purpose of permitting the curtain to be restored to its normal condition after the lire is over or the danger past. I therefore provide means for locking' the spring upon itself as soon as the barrel shaft is released, thus retaining the tension in the spring even after it has been made inoperative as a counterbalance for the curtain. 1 accomplish this by the following means: (")n the portion of the shaft extending beyond the barrel l arrange a coarse screw 23 (see Figs. 5 and 12) and on this screw l place a comparatively heavy nut 2l which is free to move back and forth along the shaft under the control of the threads on the shaft. The outer end of the block (i is provided with a series of ratchet teeth 25 and the side of the nut which faces the block is provided with a complementary set of teeth 2G. lVhen the barrel shaft is released, the service spring being under tension, the shaft is given a quick turn by the spring as the latter begins to unwind. The inertia of the nut 221 makes it slow to follow the turning movement of the shaft and therefore the shaft rotates within the nut and screws the nut inward toward the en d of the barrel, a turn or a partial turn of the shaft serving to move the nut against the end of the block 6 in the barrel and bring the ratchet teeth 25 and 26 into engagement with each other. The nut is thus locked tothe barrel and can only rotate as the barrel rotates. Consequently further independent rotationv of the barrel shaft is prevented because the shaft cannot turn independently of the nut without mov ing the nut along the shaft, such movement -o'f the nut being prevented because the nut.

has already been brought against the end of the block which forms part of the barrel. It

will therefore be seen that when the barrel shaft is' unlocked or released either by reason of a fire or by reason of the manual manipulation of the controlling lever 21, the curtain is freed from the restraining in fluence of the service spring and immediately begins to drop under its own weight.

Thetension of the service spring is not lost, Y

however, but is conserved for future use.

Some means must be provided-for checking the descent of the curtain since otherwise, particularly in the case of a heavy curtain, it might fall with suoli force as to break itself loose, break apart, 0r injure the structure upon which it is mounted. 4'I

dii

have therefore' provided an auxiliary counterbalance or checking device which is nor-` .nally out of action and is brought into play only when the service spring is disconnected and the curtain begins to drop, -The auxilia ry checking device may take various forms. ln Figs. 5 and 6 Ihave illustrated a hydraulic checkjwhile in Fig. l5 I have shown a second spring which serves to ease the descent of the curtain. Referring first to the. f urangement shown in Figs. 5 and 6, 27 represents a shaft revolubly supported at the center of the barrel in the end opposite to that in which the service spring is located. The outer end ofthe shaft QTprojects beyond the end of thebarrel and through a Itmnsverse partition wall 28. The wall .28 is provided with a suitable bearing member 29 through which the shaft extends and upon which a block or head 30 in the end of the curtain barrel is revoluhly supported. On the outer end of the shaft 27 issecured a pinion 31 which may be'engaged by any suitable device for locking the shaft against rotation. In the arrangement shown, (see Fig, 9) there is a lever 32 pivotally mounted on the wall t28 adjacent to the pinion 3l and provided with a. tooth block which is adapted to be moved into and out of engagement with the pinion 31. A spring 34 tends normally to swing `the. lever so'aS to carry the block into engagement with the pinion and thus lock the shaft 27 against rotation; The adjacent end of the shaft 16, which controls the mutilated gear at the opposite'end of the device and extends entirely across the hous? ing, is provided with an arm B5 which is connected by means of ailink 36 to the free end of the lever 32. The parts are lso proportioned that when the shaft 16 is in the angular position which causes the'shaft 3 to be, locked it holds the lever 432 down so as to leave the pinion 31 free. Consequently during the normal operation of the curtain, that is when it is raised and lowered, except in emergencies, the shaft 27 is free and rotates with the barrel. lVhen the shaft 1G is ro- -ta-ted into the position forl unlocking or re-.

leasingvthe pinion on the shaft 3 it carries the lever 32 or permits the spring' Betto carry thelever into the position to lock thepinion Bl. Consequentlyas soon as the curtain barrel is released from the influence of the kservice. springthe shaft 27 is locked against rotation and. Aas the curtain'drops and ro tates the barrel. the barrel moves relatively to the shaft 27. tion in -thc following way: The space between the bearing; head i0 for the inner vend of theshaft 9.7 and the head 30 at the end of the barrel serves as a liquid containing chamber. 'Ihe shaft 2T is provided with screw threads l1 extending throughout that portion lying` between the heads 30 and'lO and meshing with these screw threads is a' l makel use of this condipiston-likenut l2 which in the barrel' and is splined thereto so that it must rotate by simple flap tor check valves l5. Therefore the nut may travel in one direction without).

encountering any considerable resistance bell. cause the air or other fluid may pass freely(- throug'h theopenings :ll unchecked by the alves When the piston moves in the opposite direction thel pressure against the valves holds them closed and the air or other -iiuid in advance of the pist-on will he compressed' unless some other outlet is provided for it. In the arrangen'ient shown l have made the shaft 2T hollow and have provided it with one or more openings l@ leadingfroin the outer'surface to the interior at poiiits near the ends thereof. The hollow shaft with its ports or outlets at the ends serves as a conduit through which the liquid from one side of the piston may ow to the other side as the piston advances from the end toa-ard the middle of the barrel. The screw threads are so disposed that when the shaft 27 is locked and thc barrel is turned by a descending Qurtain` the piston moves in the direction to close the valves and, with the air or other fluid lying between the piston a-nd the. head lOr it fonins an air or hydraulic checl-r which eases the descent of the curtain. The resistance' offered by the checking` device depends upon the. size of the ports #l and also upon the nature of the checkingr fluid. This 'fluid may consist simply of the air contained within the barrel or, in the case of heavy curtains', the chan'iber between -the heads 30 und l0 1na vT be whollyv or 'partially filled with 'an oil having a high flashing point. ll'hen 'ton before its volume begins to det-reise by reason of xtslicing;` discharged through the hollow pipe.

'ln Figxfl l' have shown a modified form of checking device in the form Aof an auxil iary spring 'whichis wound up as the. eurtain drops during` an emergency operation and stores power which vis afterward availscr , able forflthepnrpose of liftinflr the Curtain.

In this iiran'tgement the shatft 27, correspending tothe, shaft 27 has fastened to it one end of a coiled spring a8, the other end of which is attached to the head 30 in the end of the curtain barrel,4 In this form ol" my invention, the auxiliary spring offers no resistance to the turning of the curtain bar rel as long as the shaft 27 is unlocked, because the shaft can rotate with the barrel. As soon, however, as theshaft 27 is locked :and the' curtain begins to descend, the auxn iliaryv spring a8 is wound up, its tension increasing as the curtain descends. It will thus be seen that I have provided the curw tain with a service spring which becomes inoperative in anl emergency without, however, losingT its tension, so that the curtain is free to `drop under its on'n weight as soon as the emergency occurs. It will also be seen that I have provided means which,

poi-ver as the curtain descends during an' emergency operation, the curtain may readily be lifted a short distance to permit the passage of a person who may have been trapped bythe' curtain or for other purposes. The

. power stored in the auxiliary spring is also suflicient to permit the Curtain to be lifted readily and rolled `up to the top of the open ing which it is adapted to close, the service spring remaining out of operation during this time. When the curtain .is almost completely rolled up 'the mutilated gear L3 may be brought into locking position by pulling on the chain 18, the fusible link 19 having i'n the meantime been replaced. Then duringv the last portion of the' upward movement of the curtain the barrel. rotates the .shaft so as'to bring the Vmutilated gear into 'the position indicated in Fig. 8 and the shaft and barrel come'to rest. This operation has 4. released the' auxiliary spring so that it lno longer exerts any influence upon the cur rtain The'curtain may now be drawn down by hand and, 1n so doing, the barrel rotates relative to the shaft 3 and backs the nut away .out of its locking position,l throwing -the entire` tension' of the service spring upon the barrel. Aand ymaking the service spring serveagainfas acounterbalance for the cur- 'ta1n;the parts, including the tension of the serv.ic'elspring being in the same condition'as' .-.they'gwere before thel emergency operat1on,

there-having been no unwinding of the servirc spring and consequently the servico spring requiring;I no rcn'inding aflcr thc curtain has been raised. 'The operation is just. the same as that described when the curtain is given an cincigunuv release ,l'nr testinar purposes by operating the controlling lo ver 2l.

The arrangement employing [he auxiliary spring and operating in the manner just dcscribed is applicable to curtains which are not excessively heavy. For heavy curtains 'I prefer to use the iiiid check inst-mul of the auxiliary spring. In this ease sonic .nouns must be provided for again connecting the service spring in such a way as to permit its tension to be exerted in the direction lo raise the curtain after an emergency operation. This may be done either automatically or h v manually controlled means. '.lhc simplest arrangement is that which is manually controlled, it being simpl)I necessary to place upon the end oil the spring shaft 3 some means by which the shaft may be mainuill v rotated. In the arrangement shown. scc Figs. 5 and 1l, there is placed on the shaft 3 a loose gear 50 which meshes with a. pin ion 51 mounted on the housing adjacent thereto. The pinion may be rotated in any suitable way, as by means of a sprocket chain 552, passingover a sprocket wheel 5B which is connected to the pinion. Fixed to the shaft 3 adjacent to the gear 50 is a ratchet wheel 511- vvith which a paivl or dog 55 carried by the gear is adapted to copcrate.

. The paivl and ratchet wheel are so disposed that when they are in engagement Witheach other the gear wheel and therefore the shaft 3 can only be driven by the `pinion in the direction to Wind up the service spring, a rotation of the gear wheel in the opposite direction permitting the pawl to Slip over the ratchet wheel without producing any turning movement on the' shaft. It is desirable that the sprocket chain hang idle and have no movement during the ordinary operations of the curtain and therefore I prefer to construct the pawl so that it will normally 'be out of engagement with the ratchet Wheel, this being accomplished either by counterWeighting the pawl or providing it with a spring. Therefore the shaft may .ordinarily rotate in either direction without moving the sprocket chain. desired to turn the spring shaft manually,

the pawl may be brought into engagement with the ratchet by drawing upon a rod or chain 56 which'is attached at one end to the pawl and extends down to a point within easy reach of anoperator. By this arrange ment, after the curtain has made an emergency operation, the nut 24 being locked to the barrel, the spring shaft may be turned by pulling on the sprocket chain and thus back the nut away 'from the spring barrel When it is nas Leemans and impose the tension of the spring on the barrel. The tension in the spring is now only that which it had before thelcurtain began to descend and is not as great as itwould have been had the curtain vbeen drawn down against the tension of the spring. rThe extra tension may be placed in the spring by pulling upon the sprocket chain and rotating the spring shaft through a suflicient number of turns. If desired an excess of tension -may be placed in the spring, by a continued pull on the sprocket chain, so that the spring will raise the curtain of its own Y :accord and without the assistance which it 1534s intended that a curtain shall ordinarily have. Yhenever the spring has been rewound to the desired extent, the spring shaft may be locked by means of the mutilated gear as heretofore explained.

It may sometimes be desirable to have the. spring unlocked from the barrel automatically when the'ciiitain nears the bot-tom of its'descent during an emergency opei'ation, so that the curtain is ready to be lifted when itis clear down without first rewinding the spring, or performing any other manual operation except that of lifting on the curtain. To this end I have provided the arrangement best shown in Figs. 5, 7 and 8. Referring to these figures, 60 represents a gear wheel fixed to the barrel, preferably `by mounting it upon the-end of the block G.' This gear wheel meshes with a gear wheel 6l loosely mounted u'pon a shaft G2 which is revolubly supported in the walls 4 and '8 of the housing with its axis parallel to the axis of the barrel. Fixed to the shaft 62 is aratchet wheel 63 and on the gear wheel 6l is a pawl or dog (Si which is adapted to cooperate with the ratchet wheel. It is intended that the pawl be normally out of engagement with the ratchet wheel and I have therefore provided it with a spring 65 whichv holds it. away from the ratchet wheel. The

shaft 62 carries a pinion 66 meshing with an idle pinion 67 which in turn meshes with the pinion or gear ll on the spring shaft. Then the pawl is in engagement with the ratchet wheel, a rotation of the barrel in the direc-tion produced by a falling curtain causes the pawl to drive the ratchet wheel and therefore, through the intermediate gearing, the spring shaft is also driven; the direction o-f rotation of the spring shaft heing against -the resistance of the spring. It will thus be seen that when. the gearing which I have just explained is thrown into operation the spring shaft is turned in just.

the opposite direction from that in which it moves when released for an-emergency application. Therefore when this gearing is thrown into action after/an emergency op-k eration, the nut .having been screwed into engagement with the barrel, a, relative turning movement between the nut and the shaft away from the barrel and unlock the working end of the springfroin the barrel. As soon asl this occurs, the spring is in a position to exert its tension in the directioirto lift the curtain, the power of the spring being transmitted through the train of gearing. y

The pawl G-L may be thrown into engagement with the ratchet wheel at the proper point in the descent of the curtain in any suitable manner. In the arrangement shown there is a. cam lever T0 mounted upon one of the end walls of the housing in the plane of the pawl Gi. Normally the cam lever is out of the path of the pawl as the pawl rotates with its gear, but means are provided for swinging one end of the lever into the path of the pawl so that as the pawl reaches it during its rotation it is pressed inwardly into engagement with the ratchetwheel and is held there as long as the gearing is under strain. The cam lever is connected in a suitablenianner so that it will be thrown into action by the curtain just before the curtain reaches the bottom of its descent. In the arrangement shown, one end of the cam lever has attached thereto a rod T1 provided with a hooked portion 72 the end 73 of which is adapted tobe caught bya pin on one edge of the curtain and be drawn down, thus rotating'the lever into 'position to engage with the pawl. Normally the member 73 is held out of the path of the pin on the curtain by means of an arm 74: on'the controlling shaft 16, this arm engagingthe hook and holding it in inopera tive position as long as the shaft 1G occupies the position wherein it locks the spring shaft 3, that is the member 73 is held out of the path of the pin on the curtain as long as the shaft 16 is not in an emergency position. As soon as the shaft 1G assumes an emergency position the arm 74 is withdrawn from the hook, and the latter, beingmade of spring metal, jumps back so as to carry the end 73 into the path of the pin on the curtain.' I have illustrated the pin on the curtain at 75 in Fig. 2. In order that the cam lever may be operated manually I have provided it with a rod 7G which extends down beside the opening which is adapted to be closed by the'curtain to a point within easy reach of a person standing adjacent to the opening. y

The operation of the mechanism just described is as follows: Assuming that the c urtain has been released for an emergency operation, the locking nut having been shifted over into engagement with the barrel, and the curtain having begun its descent unde'r the control of the checking vdevice,-the curtain-descends until the pin 75 hook being drawn down withv the curtain and swinging the cani lever4 into'the path of the paivl 64. The pawl is constantly r'o tating ii'itli the gear Wheel on which it is mounted and therefore it strikes the raised cam lever and is brought into engagement with the ratchet Wheel so that the spring shaft becomes geared to the barrel. As I have heretofore explained, the rotation of the shaft which now ensues is in the direction to back the locking nut away from the curtain barrel so that the power of lthe spring again comes upon the barrel. This .occurs just before the curtain cornes to rest so that when the curtain is completely down the spring serves as a 'partial counterbalance which permits the curtain rto be raised easily, the spring exerting its i. tension through the train of gearing. The serviceY spring of course only (has its initial tensin which isless than the tension which it` would have under ordinary conditions ivhere the curtain is simply drawn down against the 'tension of the spring and, for' the purpose of increasing the tension of the spring to any desired extent I prefer soto proportion the gearing between the barrel and the shaft that when the curtain is drawn down with the gearing in action it places in the spring a tension in excess o f that which would;` occur under ordinary conditions with the shaft locked. Therefore,

after the curtainhas been 'partially or wholly raised, it Imay be drawn down so as to wind up the spring and then the shaft may be locked by means of the mutilated gear iny the manner heretofore explained, and the curtain be raised again; the spring being univound a, less number of turns duiing the lifting of the curtain than it was Wound by the descending cui'tain. is soon as the shaft 3 is locked and the curtain lbegins to rise, the paivl (-Ll automatically disengages itself from its ratchet vvheeh In this manner the .spring may be wound up so as to give it any desired tension by siniyply raising and lowering the curtain, un locking the shaft during the lowering of .the curtaiirand throwing in the winding gearing upon the lowering of the curtain and locking the shaft when the cui-tain is 'raised. Y

The 2rod 71 may have a flexible portion,

as indicated at 77 so that the hook may be carried doivn a short distance after the cam lever has been brought into `workingl position7 thus insuring that the lever will be brought into the working position without requiring that the adjustment of theparts be` extremely accurate.

The curtain may take any usual or desired forni, but I prefer to make it of a series of corrugated sections 80- which are suitably interlocked Withgeach other, each 'section having several corrugations so as nto` give great strength without making tlie-curtain sections may'be'heldtogetler by means of i@ thicker giving a i500' gaat Weight. "The short platesl arranged on opposite sides thereof and having vlingers 82 which lie in the4 corrugations Where they are secured. 1o These plates are preferably as Wide'as the thickness of the curtain so that they may` act as shoes to fill the channels in which the. edges of the curtain run,.taking the Wearjre sulting from the'frictio'nal contact between 7E the curtain and th-e guides, holding the curtain in. alinement,' and preventing fire from` passing Varound the edges of the curtain. It is necessary to provide'some means for preventing the fire from passing from one se side of the curtain through the housing and around to the other side ofthe curtain and A for this purposefl have provided a novel forni of baille plate which comes into action y not only in an emergency hut whenever the 85 curtainis drawn down to its full extent,

thereby preventing the bearings from becoming rusty and insuring that the battle y i plate Will operate `when it is needed. Fur l therinore, by having the baille plate con 91V trolled directly from the curtain, it Will al- Ways be in` position ivlien the curtain is down so that it does not depend upon a danv gerous rise in temperature to place it in Working position and therefore With the cuitain affords a perfect fire proof covering A which may be placed in position across an opening before a fire reaches it. The housing has an inwardly extending flange r83 lying beloiv the curtain barrel and adjacent to this flange is pivotally mounted a bailie plate or cover S-l, extending throughout the length ofthe housing and preferably Apivoted so as to move about a longitudinal axis at' about the center of the plate. The plate4 165 is so proportioned that one edge underliesi.

,the iange 83 and when it is swung about sd" as to bring this edge into engagement with the flange the opposite edge presses against the curtain and ina-kes a tight joint. 'I pre- 11G,

fer to curl the edge of the vplate which engages with the curtain as indicated at 85so that the vplate inay be drawn against the curtain with a yielding pressure. The plate is preferably counter-Weighted so that itivill automatically swing aiya-y from the curtain when free to do so and it is provided with an arm 8G which is adapted to be engaged by a pin 87 on the curtain -just befdrethe curtain descends far enough to completely 123 close the opening Awhich it is adapted to cover. Therefore as the curtain vcompletes its descent the pin carries the ari-n down and swings the baffle plate into its Working posii L tion.'\ f f "4 l" The edges ofthe curtain ride in suitable i channels 90 and 91', these being attached to the wall 92 at the sides of the oliening which the curtain is to coiei". In case of a severe lire which will heatthe fire door and the 'tenings being indicated at. 98. rangement the unequal expansion wlnchmay7 Lafon-eos channels or guides to a high temperature, there will be an unequal expansion between the-material of the wall and the material ol. the guides and therefore, unless some means is provided to compensate for this difference in expansion, the guides will buckle and warp and allow openings to form around the curtain. I have provided a novel means for attaching the guides which will sup-A port them firmly under normal conditions and yet will permit them to expand and contract naturally under great temperature changes. To this end I have provided theA guides with elongated openings 93 through which passvthe bolts 94. which attach the guides to the wall. The openings are preferably made not only elongated but larger in every direction than the diameter of the bolts, so as to permit freedom of relative movements between the guides and the bolts in any direction. Between the nuts 95 on the bolts and the guides I place split helical spring washers 9G which willI not be quite closed when the guides are originally secured in place. In case of a fire, the washers will become hot and will lose their temper so that they no longer have a secure grinJ on the guides and the guides may therefore expand freely. If desired, the usual heavy plate 97 on the bottom of the curtain may -be fastened to the curtain-I proper' by the same kind of fastenings as those employed for securing' the guides to the, wall, such fas- By this artake place between the thinner corrugated sections and the heavy plate will not produce a buckling of the curtain.

It will thus be seen that I have produced a number of novel features which may be combined in various ways to produce an effective fire curtain. which operates and lwhich may be controlled in any desired m'anner: taking care of the demand for the simplest arrangement in which the curtain is simply dropped without releasing the tension of its service spring; of an arrangement in which there is means for simply winding the service spring, the sprocket and chain) of an arrangement in which the curtain may be released for test purposes without disturbing the fusible connections; of an arrangement lin which the easing of the descent of the curtain during an emergency operation and the subsequent raising thereof is accomplished by an auxiliary spring; and of arrangements which employ very heavy curtains and therefore require a powerful checking device.

I claim:

l. In combination, a barrel, means for revolubly supporting said barrel, a curtain on said barrel, a, counter-balancing spring .lying within said barrel and secured at one end thereto, a shaft connected to the other end of the spring and revolubly supported by the barrel, means-for normally holding said shaft against. rotation, and means actuated by the rotation of the shaft for locking the ends of the spring against relative movement.

2. In combination, a curtain, a service spring for counter-balancing the curtain, mechanism for rendering the spring inoperative as a counter-balance without releasing its tension, restraining means for said mechanism adapted to lie rendered inoperative upon a predetermined rise in temperature` said mechanism including a part controlled by the curtain for restoring the spring` to operativeness.

3. In combination, a curtain, a service spring normallyY under tension for counterbalancing'tlie curtain, mechanism actuating` upon a predetermined rise in temperature for rendering the spring inoperative as a counter-balance and ift the same time locking it against unwinding, and means for automatically restoring the spring to operativeness as a counter-balance after the curtain has descended a predetermined distance below the point it occupied when the spring was locked.

i. In combination, a curtain, a barrel for the curtain, a service spring connected` at one end to the barrel, a holding` device for the other end of the spring, means acting upon a predetermined rise in temperature for detaching the latter from said device and locking it against movement relative tothe other end, and means controlled by the curtain for returning theSPling toservice condition.

5. In combination, a curtain, a counterbalancing spring connected at one end to said curtain, a revoluble screw-threaded shaft connected to the other end of the spring, a nut having consideral'ile inertia end of the springl loosely mounted on said shaft, means cooperating with said nut in one position of the nut to lock the ends of thespring against relative movement, and means including a fusible element foi-'normally' holding said shaft against rotation. i

6. In combination, a lire curtain, a barrel for the curtain, a. spring' connected at one end to the barrel, a holding device for the other end of the spring,v means for disconnecting the llatter' end of the spring from the said device and locking it 'to the barrel, and means controlled by the curtain for unlocking the last-mentioned end of the spring from the barrel.

7. In combina-tion, acurtain, a service spring for counterbalancing the curtain, a device for checking the descent of the curtain, and automatic means for rendering the spring inoperative 4s a counter-balance without releasing its tension and simultaneously connectingsaid device to the curtain.

65 ievolubly supporting said barrel, a curtain 8. In combination,v a curtain, a service spring for counterbalancing the curtain, a

device forchecking the descent of the curtain, means for rendering the' spring inoperative as a counterbalancelwithout releasing its tension and simultaneously connecting said device to the curtain, `and means for again rendering the spring operative as a\ counterbalance While retaining its tension.y A,

9. In combination,` a curtain, a service" spring for counterbalancing the curtain, a

I device lforchecking the descent of ie curtain normally disconnected d, frgm the curtain, and mechanism controilel by the spring for locking its ends against relative movementand simultaneously connecting saiddevice to the curtain.

10.` In combination, a fire curtain, a service Vcounterbalance for the curtain, means in cluding a fusible element for rendering said vcounter-balance inoperatveto resist the V"descent of the curtain, a member including a flexible connection Vextending fr omv said means, and a combined ,locking and operating device secured to the fi'ee end'of said connection. j i l 11. InV combination, a curtain, a service spring for counterbalancing the curtain, and means including a train `of gearing adapted to be connected between the curtain andthe spring for increasing the effective tension of the spring upon drawing the curtain in one direction and then fre Furning it to the starting point.

l2. `1n combination, a curtain, a revoluble support for the curtain, a counterbalancing 'spring connected at one end to said support,

`a screw-threaded inn i `other end of the spring, a movable nut on said screw-threaded member for locking the ends Aof said spring against relative moveer connected to the ment, and a holding device for said member. 13. In combination, a curtain, Va revoluble y"lfsupport for the curtain, a counterbala-ncing i spring connected at one end to' saidsupport,

a screw-threaded member connected tothe other end of the spring, a movablenut on4v said screwathreaded member for locking the` support for said curtain, .a counterbalancing ends of said spring against relative move. ment, aV holding device for said member,and means,` actuated upon a predetermined rise in temperature for releasing said member Afrom said holding device. Y y 14. In combination, a curtain, a revoluble spring connected at one end to said curtain,

- a revoluble screw-threaded shaft connected to the other end of said spring, a nut having considerable inertia mounted on said shaft and movable from a position in engagement ivith said revoluble supportto an inoperative position, and means including a fusible member for holding said shaft.

15. In combination, a barrelmeans for on said barrel, a' service spring lying ivithin the barrel and connected at one end thereto, a revoluble member connected to vthe other end of said spring and projecting be-V yond the end of said barrel, means including 'a fusible member forfholding the projecting end of said revolublemember, and means actuated by said member upon the rotation ythereof to lock .saidf member to the barrel.

i 16. In" combination, a barrel, means for revolubly supporting said barrel, a curtain `on said barrel, a counterbalancing spring lying Within said barrel and secured at one end thereto, a shaft connected to the other end of the spring and revolubly supported by said barrel, means including a fusible element for normallyA holding said shaft. against rotation, and means actuated by the rotation of said shaft for locking it to the barrel. 1 i

' 17. In combination, a curtain, a service spring for counter-balancingthe curtain, a

screw-threadedV member controlled by the spring, and means associated with said screw-threaded member for locking the ends of the spring against relative movements.

18. In combination, a revoluble curtain support, a 'curtain on said support, a counterbalance'for said curtain, a member movablelongitudinally of said support for lockcondition, and means controlled 'by the counterbalance -for actuating said member.

19. In combination, a curtain, a service spring for counterbalaiicing the curtain,

means including a screw-threaded member controlled byI the spring for locking the ends of the 'spring against relative movemeinbei' Vadapted to be. renderedV inoperative upon a predetermined rise vin temperature. l

20. In combination, a curtain, a revoluble support for the curtain, a counter-balancing spring connectedat one end to said Support,

a.screW-th readed member connected to theotlier end of the spring and adapted to be rotated thereby, a holding device for said member, means actuated upon a predetermined rise in temperature for releasing said member from saidY holding device, and aV able inertia so aff to compel it to move axially of said memberupon a sudden rotation of the member to lock the'ends of`said spring against relative movement.

21. In combination, a curtain, a counterbalance for said, curtain, a fluid pressure check vdevice normally disconnected from the curtain, and means for rendering the counter-balance inoperative and at thesame time connecting the check device to the curtain.

22. In c mbination, a curtain, a counterbalance -fcthe curtain, means for rendering the counter-,balance inoperativeto resist the 'ing said counterbalance in an inoperative fment, and a restraining device for said i loose nut on sa-id memberhaving considertive..

descent of the'curta-in, a. holding device for said means, a normally inoperative fluid pressure check device for retardingthe descent of the curtain, and means acting upon a predetermined rise in temperature for releasing said holding device and simultaneously rendering the check device opera-l 23. In combination, a curtain barrel, a curtain on said barrel, 'a counter-balancing spring in one endv of the barrel, a normally inoperative uid pressure check device in the opposite end ofthe barrel, means for rendering said spring inoperative to retard lthe descent of the curtain, a restraining device or said means, and means actuated upon a predetermined rise in) temperature forv releasing said restraining device and` at Athe same time rendering. said check device operative. 24. In combination )Vith a re shutter, a

shutter carrying member, a counter-balance means permanently maintained in operative condition, ya retardiiig means, saidv EZRA B. SMITH.

Witnesses ,l

WM. F. FREUDENREICH, RUBY V. BRYDGES. 

